Daydream Believer

xlii. recess and the meaning of life, the universe, and everything

xlii. recess and big kids

School had started already. The summer was just too short. I liked summer because I had lots and lots of time to myself. Now I had to be with all of the kids at school. I looked around. All of the little kids were playing hopscotch. Others were playing on the slides. There were a few big fifth graders with a jump rope.

"Hey!" one of them shouted at me. "You can play with us if you give us 10 cents!"

"No thanks," I said. Last time I did that, I landed flat on my face when I tried to jump over the rope. All of the big kids made fun of me. What a waste of a dime.

"Aw, you're just a wimp!" one said.

"Go away," I said. I walked past them and started looking for Aaron and Justin. I found them on the swings. As usual, Aaron was sitting on the swings and Justin was reading a book. Aaron still hadn't figured out how to swing, and he was too big to push, so most of the time he just sat there.

"Hi McKenna," he said.

"Aaron, why are all of the fifth graders so mean?" I asked him. They had been mean to us every single year. Even when we were kindergarteners and they knocked down our snowman.

"I don't know," Aaron said.

"Think about it this way, McKenna," Justin said. "We'll be fifth graders next year. Then nobody can be mean to us."

"But we're going to be nice fifth graders, right?" I said.

"Of course," Justin said.

I started swinging into the air. Flying wasn't nearly as much of a thrill as it used to be. The sky was just dull and gray. I didn't really want to touch it. I was okay with just getting close.

But it was still fun.